Method for evaluating an available path bitrate based on an acknowledgment path selection

Abstract

 The invention relates to the field of multi-path communication. More particularly the invention deals with a method for evaluating at a first endpoint (1) an available bitrate (BR) over one of a plurality of paths (P1,P2,P3) linking the first endpoint (1) and a second endpoint (2), a plurality of data packets being sent from said first endpoint (1) to said second endpoint (2), said second endpoint (2), each time it receives a data packet, sending an acknowledgment (Ack) to said first endpoint (1) through one of the paths (P1,P2,P3) selected according to a strategy for speeding up overall delivery of said data packets to said second endpoint (2).
According to the invention, it involves a step of :
- inserting a flag (A) in a first data packet (DP1) out of said data packets;
- sending said first data packet (DP1) through one of said paths (P1);
- measuring a sending time (t1) of the first data packet (DP1) at the first endpoint (1);
- receiving an acknowledgment (Ack) sent by said second endpoint (2) through said path (P1) after said second endpoint (2) has received said first data packet (DP1) comprising said flag (A);
- measuring an arrival time (t2) of said acknowledgment (Ack) at the first endpoint (1);
- evaluating the available bitrate (BR) from an interval between the sending time (t1) and the arrival time (t2).

Description

Field Of The Invention

[0001] The invention relates to the field of multi-path communication. More particularly the invention deals with a method for evaluating an available path bitrate based on an acknowledgment path selection.

Background Of The Invention

[0002] Multi-path communication inherits from the multi-homing capability that is about supporting several IP addresses (IP is an acronym for "Internet Protocol") to reach a given network endpoint. Problems and issues to address in multi-path technology are well known. For example, when using multiple paths to transmit information packets from a first endpoint to a second endpoint, the first endpoint must use a packet distribution strategy for balancing the data packets among the available paths linking the first and second paths. The aim of such a strategy is to select paths depending on the application (type of data) running in such endpoints and on the paths characteristic/status. The latter must be consistent with the real network state and is therefore maintained up to date through continuous measurements

[0003] Depending on the application and at least for video delivery, the following parameters are commonly used to characterize a path: bandwidth, jitter, delay. These parameters can be measured through an end-to-end measurement method. This may not be trivial as the measurement process must not perturbate the data transfer. Hereinafter, the bandwidth which is a parameter describing the ability of a path to deliver an amount of data during a time duration is the main interest and later the expression "bitrate" will be preferably used rather than the expression "bandwidth" which are considered as equivalent.

[0004] For measuring such parameters an end-to-end transport protocol like for example Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) or TCP may measure the available bitrate from a Round-trip-time (RTT) measurement, which is considered as being equal to a difference between the time of sending of a data packet by the first endpoint to the second endpoint and the arrival time of an acknowledgment packet sent by the second endpoint to the first endpoint, said acknowledgment being sent by the second endpoint immediately after it receives said data packet.

[0005] However one showed that the strategies for sending acknowledgment of data packets can affect the overall transmission as, for example in SCTP, where sending the acknowledgement of data packet through the fastest available path speeds up the overall transmission. If such a strategy is used, one cannot guaranty the acknowledgment comes back through the same path than the data packet itself. Then, using the acknowledgment of data for evaluating the Round-trip-time wouldn't be pertinent.

[0006] The problem is then : how to measure frequently the available bitrate on a path without generating a high overload and in combination with a strategy of acknowledgment path selection used for managing the data delivery ?

[0007] One of the goals of the present invention is to solve that problem.

Summary Of The Invention

[0008] The technical problem that present invention intends to solve is to measure an available bitrate over a path P1 linking a first endpoint and a second endpoint by forcing the second endpoint, at reception of a particular data packet sent from the first endpoint via path P1, to send back an acknowledgement through the same path P1. In such situation the data packet and the acknowledgment are both transmitted over the same path P1. This can be achieved through the usage of a dedicated signalling/flag located in the data packet which enable a particularization of a data packet.

[0009] Thus, the present invention concerns, according to a first aspect, a method for evaluating at a first endpoint 1 an available bitrate BR over a path P1, P2, P3 linking the first endpoint 1 and a second endpoint 2, a plurality of data packets being sent from said first endpoint 1 to said second endpoint 2, said second endpoint 2 sending at each data packet reception an acknowledgment to said first endpoint 1 through an acknowledgment path P1, P2, P3, said acknowledgment path P1, P2, P3 being selected at each data packet reception time for optimizing overall data packet transmission.

[0010] According to the invention, it involves a step of :

• inserting a flag A in a first data packet DP1 out of said data packets;
• sending said first data packet DP1 through said path P1;
• measuring a sending time t1 of the first data packet DP1 at the first endpoint 1;
• receiving an acknowledgment Ack sent by said second endpoint 2 through said path P1 after said second endpoint 2 has received said first data packet DP1 comprising said flag A;
• measuring an arrival time t2 of said acknowledgment Ack at the first endpoint 1;
• evaluating the available bitrate BR from an interval between the sending time t1 and the arrival time t2.

[0011] According to a second aspect, the invention concerns a device evaluating an available bitrate BR over a path P1 linking a first endpoint 1 and a second endpoint 2, a plurality of data packets being sent from said first endpoint 1 to said second endpoint 2, said second endpoint 2 sending at each data packet reception an acknowledgment to said first endpoint 1 through an acknowledgment path P1, P2, P3, said acknowledgment path P1, P2, P3 being selected at each data packet reception time for optimizing overall data packet transmission. Said device being located in said first endpoint.

[0012] According to the invention, it comprises:

• Means for inserting a flag A in a first data packet DP1 before said data packet is sent to said second endpoint 2;
• Means for determining a sending time t1 of said first data packet DP1 from the first endpoint 1;
• Means for determining an arrival time t2 at the first endpoint 1 of an acknowledgment Ack sent by said second endpoint 2 through said path P1 after said second endpoint 2 has received said first data packet DP1 comprising said flag A;
• Means for evaluating the available bitrate BR from an interval between the sending time t1 and the arrival time t2.

[0013] According to a third aspect, the invention concerns a device for evaluating an available bitrate BR over a path P1 linking a first endpoint 1 and a second endpoint 2, a plurality of data packets being sent from said first endpoint 1 to said second endpoint 2, said second endpoint 2 sending at each data packet reception an acknowledgment to said first endpoint 1 through an acknowledgment path P1, P2, P3, said acknowledgment path P1, P2, P3 being selected at each data packet reception time for optimizing overall data packet transmission, said device being located in said second endpoint 2.

[0014] According to the invention, it comprises:

• Means for detecting a flag A inserted in a data packet received by said second endpoint 2;
• Means for forcing the acknowledgment path to be identical to the path P1 over which the data packet is sent to the second endpoint 2 when the flag A is detected in the received data packet.

[0015] According to an embodiment, said flag insertion has no effect on size of said first data packet DP1.

[0016] According to an embodiment, said data packets comprising a header, wherein the flag A is inserted in a reserved bit of the header of the first data packet BR1.

[0017] According to an embodiment, a transport protocol is used for transporting data from the first endpoint 1 to the second endpoint 2 through said path P1, P2, P3.

[0018] According to an embodiment, the transport protocol is SCTP.

[0019] According to an embodiment, said first endpoint 1 uses SCTP as a transport protocol for sending data packets from first endpoint 1 to said second endpoint 2.

[0020] According to an embodiment, said flag A is located in one reserved bit of the header of said first data packet DP1.

[0021] A first advantage of the invention is that it allows making available at sending side a measure of the available path bitrate from a single flag inserted in a data packet which generate no extra load. This is particularly advantageous in case of evaluation available bitrate realized at high frequency.

[0022] A second advantage of the invention is that it relies on a mechanism of acknowledgment carried out for data transfer. Even the data acknowledgment mechanism is used for improving the overall transmission it can be briefly modified for contributing to an evaluation of the available bitrate without inducing negative noticeable effect on the overall transmission.

Brief Description Of The Drawings

[0023] The invention will be better understood and illustrated by means of the following embodiments and execution examples, in no way limitative, with reference to the appended figures on which:

Figure 1, represents a first and a second endpoint linked by paths P1, P2, P3;

Figure 2a, shows the details of a typical SCTP data packet (or data chunk);

Figure 2b, shows the details of an adapted SCTP data packet for carrying out a method according to the invention.

Detailed Description Of Preferred Embodiments

[0024] It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, many other elements found in typical digital multimedia content delivery methods and systems. However, because such elements are well known in the art, a detailed discussion of such elements is not provided herein. The disclosure herein is directed to all such variations and modifications known to those skilled in the art.

[0025] Figure 1 shows a first endpoint 1 and a second endpoint 2 linked by three paths P1, P2, and P3.

[0026] A transport protocol is used for transporting data from the first endpoint 1 to the second endpoint 2 by said path P1, P2 and P3.

[0027] One wishes to measure the available bitrate on the path P1 in a situation where path P1 is currently used for sending data from first endpoint 1 to the second endpoint 2.

[0028] Let's consider an amount of data D split and transferred in a form of data packets to be sent from the first endpoint 1 to the second endpoint 2 over the path P1.

[0029] The first endpoint 1 sends successively the data packets over the path P1. At reception of each data packet, the second endpoint 2 sends classically an acknowledgment to the first endpoint. This acknowledgment is sent over one of the available paths P1, P2, P3 and not mandatorily over the path P1 used for transporting the corresponding data packet. The selection of the path P1, P2, P3 for transporting the acknowledgment is performed for achieving a goal such as speeding up the overall transmission of data packets form the first endpoint to the second endpoint. An example of a strategy used to achieve this goal will be briefly described below. Then, the acknowledgments are not always sent through the same path P1 and particularly are not always sent through the same path P1 than the corresponding data packet. In a situation where an acknowledgment is not necessarily transported on the same path than the corresponding data packet, said acknowledgment cannot be used for evaluating the round-trip-time.

[0030] The strategy followed by the second endpoint 2 for selecting an acknowledgment path is determined in relation to the pursued objective. For example, when the objective is to optimize the overall speed of the data packet transport, a suitable strategy would be to send the acknowledgment for the second endpoint 2 always over the fastest path at the time of reception of the data packet. Due to congestion problem or any other event, this fastest path can be P1, P2 or P3 depending on time.

[0031] The idea is to force briefly the second endpoint to interrupt the predefined strategy for certain (particular) data packets. Then, the first endpoint 1 comprises a device adapted for particularizing a data packet DP1 for example by inserting a flag A in said data packet DP1 before it is sent from first endpoint 1.

[0032] When, the second endpoint detects it receives such a singular first data packet DP1 transported via said path P1, it sends in response a corresponding acknowledgment which is mandatorily sent over the same path P1 to the first endpoint. For this particular data packet, the second endpoint does not follow the strategy concerning the selection of an acknowledgment path out of the available paths.

[0033] Advantageously, the flag insertion does not modify the overhead of said data packets. The overhead is the ratio between the size of data comprised in a data packet and the whole size of the packet. In particular, the insertion of a flag A doesn't modify the size of the data packet.

[0034] A representation of information successively sent over the path P1 is shown on the top of figure 1 where a dark box shows a first data packet DP1 in which a flag is inserted (also named latter "particular data packet"). The other white boxes represent data packets which don't comprise any flag inserted by the first endpoint. These later data packets will be named later "normal data packet".

[0035] Following the reception by the second endpoint 2 of one normal data packet, said second endpoint sends, in response, an acknowledgment to the first endpoint through one of the available path P1, P2 or P3 depending on the predefined strategy.

[0036] Following the reception by the second endpoint 2 of a first data packet DP1 (particular data packet), said second endpoint sends in response an acknowledgment Ack to the first endpoint through the same path P1 than the one over which the data packet was sent to the second endpoint.

[0037] The second endpoint determines if a received data packet is a normal data packet or a particular data packet by examining the presence of a flag set to 1 inserted in the data packet.

[0038] The first endpoint 1 comprises means for evaluating a date of sending t1 of this first data packet DP1 from said first endpoint, means for storing said date of sending t1 of this first data packet DP1 and also means for evaluating a date of reception t2 of this particular acknowledgment by said first endpoint.

[0039] In case the protocol used for transporting data packets from the first endpoint to the second endpoint is SCTP, one knows from the paragraph 3.3.1 of the technical document "RFC 4960 - Stream Control Transmission Protocol" which can be found on the internet at the following address "http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4960" the payload structure of a SCTP data chunk (or SCTP data packet) .

[0040] This Payload structure is represented in figure 2a. It shows in particular the presence of 5 bits which are reserved, by default set to zero and usually ignored at reception of the data packet.

[0041] The invention proposes to use at least one of these reserved bit. Figure 2b shows an exemplary embodiment of a modification of SCTP data packet structure for considering one of the 5 reserved bits as a flag A. This flag can be set to 1 by the first endpoint.

[0042] When a data packet having such a flag A set to 1 is received by the second endpoint, said second endpoints stops to follow the strategy for selecting a path for conveying the acknowledgment of receipt to the first endpoint and mandatorily sends the acknowledgment Ack through the same path it received the data packet.

[0043] Advantageously, the insertion of the flag consists in setting to 1 a reserved bit in a header of data packet.

[0044] Reference herein to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one implementation of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarily mutually exclusive of other embodiments.

Claims

1. Method for evaluating at a first endpoint (1) an available bitrate (BR) over a path (P1, P2, P3) linking the first endpoint (1) and a second endpoint (2), a plurality of data packets being sent from said first endpoint (1) to said second endpoint (2), said second endpoint (2) sending at each data packet reception an acknowledgment to said first endpoint (1) through an acknowledgment path (P1, P2, P3), said acknowledgment path (P1, P2, P3) being selected at each data packet reception time for optimizing overall data packet transmission, characterized in that it involves a step of:

- inserting a flag (A) in a first data packet (DP1) out of said data packets;

- sending said first data packet (DP1) through said path (P1);

- measuring a sending time (t1) of the first data packet (DP1) at the first endpoint (1);

- receiving an acknowledgment (Ack) sent by said second endpoint (2) through said path (P1) after said second endpoint (2) has received said first data packet (DP1) comprising said flag (A);

- measuring an arrival time (t2) of said acknowledgment (Ack) at the first endpoint (1);

- evaluating the available bitrate (BR) from an interval between the sending time (t1) and the arrival time (t2).

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said flag insertion has no effect on size of said first data packet (DP1).

3. Method according to claim 2, said data packets comprising a header, wherein the flag (A) is inserted in a reserved bit of the header of the first data packet (BR1).

4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a transport protocol is used for transporting data from the first endpoint (1) to the second endpoint (2) through said path (P1, P2, P3).

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein said transport protocol is SCTP.

6. Device for evaluating an available bitrate (BR) over a path (P1) linking a first endpoint (1) and a second endpoint (2), a plurality of data packets being sent from said first endpoint (1) to said second endpoint (2), said second endpoint (2) sending at each data packet reception an acknowledgment to said first endpoint (1) through an acknowledgment path (P1, P2, P3), said acknowledgment path (P1, P2, P3) being selected at each data packet reception time for optimizing overall data packet transmission, said device being located in said first endpoint (1), characterized in that it comprises:

- Means for inserting a flag (A) in a first data packet (DP1) before said data packet is sent to said second endpoint (2);

- Means for determining a sending time (t1) of said first data packet (DP1) from the first endpoint (1);

- Means for determining an arrival time (t2) at the first endpoint (1) of an acknowledgment (Ack) sent by said second endpoint (2) through said path (P1) after said second endpoint (2) has received said first data packet (DP1) comprising said flag (A);

- Means for evaluating the available bitrate (BR) from an interval between the sending time (t1) and the arrival time (t2).

7. Device according to the claim 6, wherein said first endpoint (1) uses SCTP as a transport protocol for sending data packets from first endpoint (1) to said second endpoint (2).

8. Device according to the claim 7, wherein said flag (A) is located in one reserved bit of the header of said first data packet (DP1).

9. Device for evaluating an available bitrate (BR) over a path (P1) linking a first endpoint (1) and a second endpoint (2), a plurality of data packets being sent from said first endpoint (1) to said second endpoint (2), said second endpoint (2) sending at each data packet reception an acknowledgment to said first endpoint (1) through an acknowledgment path (P1, P2, P3), said acknowledgment path (P1, P2, P3) being selected at each data packet reception time for optimizing overall data packet transmission, said device being located in said second endpoint (2), characterized in that it comprises:

- Means for detecting a flag (A) inserted in a data packet received by said second endpoint (2);

- Means for forcing the acknowledgment path to be identical to the path (P1) over which the data packet is sent to the second endpoint (2) when the flag (A) is detected in the received data packet.

Drawing